How Could We Have Been So Blind?
by Revelation Rebel
Summary: They warned us that this would happen. That very soon, millions of people around the world would vanish right before our eyes. But we didn't listen and now it's too late...
1. Prologue

**How Could We Have Been So Blind?**  
><span><strong>By: Child of Dreams<strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Left Behind/Left Behind: The Kids series, nor do I own the names of both past and present international political figures.**  
><span><strong>I am merely borrowing temporary use of God's prophetic playground to deliver this urgent message before it's too late.<strong>  
><span><strong>On that note, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to President Barack Obama for any disrespectful or slanderous comments that may be expressed in this story.<strong>  
><span><strong>While I do admit that certain comments may (and most likely will) reflect my actual opinions, they are not intended as a threat and are not meant to be taken literally.<strong>  
><span><strong>The same applies to the Catholic Church and its beliefs and traditions.<strong>  
><span><strong>Secondly, while I am using specific dates for the Rapture in regards to this story, I am in no way setting, or attempting to set, any dates for the actual Rapture.<strong>  
><span><strong>The use of dates in this story is merely meant to help me express the very neccessary feeling of extreme imminence in regards to the Rapture's timing.<strong>  
><span><strong>And finally, you may notice a certain similarity to the first name of Dr. Tim LaHaye's character, Nicolae Jetty Carpathia.<strong>  
><span><strong>Please note that I am not attempting to plagiarize from his work, but unfortunately for me, I experienced an insane amount of muse-to-author imagination-inspiration blockage while trying to come up with a full name for the Antichrist that would fit in with the necessary numerolgical calculations and values while also staying true to the approximate location of his country of origin on the geographical world map.<strong>  
><span><strong>So, now that all of the 'legalities' are out of the way, let the story begin!<strong>

**Chapter One: Prologue**

_They told us that this was going to happen._  
><em>That very soon, in a split second, in the twinkling of an eye, the trumpet would sound and Christian believers around the world, along with all children who haven't yet reached the age of accountability, would be called up to meet Jesus in the air before spending the next seven years with Him in Heaven while those remaining on Earth, having waited too long to accept Christ's gift of salvation, would have to endure the horrors of the Tribulation.<em>  
><em>But we didn't listen.<em>

_We ignored their desperate pleas, scoffed at their urgent warnings and labeled them as 'freaks', 'Christian do-gooders' and_  
><em>'religious nuts who were in desperate need of a reality check.'<em>  
><em>But we were wrong and now it's too late.<em>  
><em>The day and hour of the Rapture has arrived, and we have been left behind.<em>


	2. Meet Andre, Rachel, Katie & Gabe

**Chapter Two: Andre, Rachel, Katie & Gabe**

Thursday, November 27, 2014  
><span>Jacksonville, FL<span>

"Andre Luther King, get your greedy fingers out of your Aunt Penelope's sweet-potato pie!" a female voice rang out through the hallway.  
>17 year old Andre turned around to see his mother standing in the doorway of his Grandmama Josephine's kitchen with her hands on her hips, glaring at him in disapproval.<br>"Sorry, Mama!" the 17 year old grinned unrepentantly, his dark brown eyes glinting with mischief.  
>Rosalynn Dianna King, nee Parker just raised her eyebrows with an "Oh, really?" expression on her face before walking forward and giving her son a firm tap on the back of his head.<br>"No you're not, boy, so don't bother trying to fake it!" she snorted and Andre gave her a toothy grin, hugging her tightly.  
>"Yes, Ma'am" he chuckled teasingly as his mother squeezed back just as hard.<br>"I love you, baby!" she murmured gently.  
>Andre smiled widely, his perfectly white teeth gleaming brightly.<br>"I love you too, Mama!"

Saturday, January 20, 2015  
><span>Sanderson, FL<span>

Fifteen year old Rachel Elisabeth Morrison lay on her bed, propped up on her elbows with her right arm supporting her head while staring out her bedroom window at the setting sun and listening to the sounds of her six year old triplet brothers, Joshua, Jacob and Jason, happily demolishing their playroom for the twelfth time that month while her eleven year old sister, Riley, sang along, her voice loud and badly off-key, to an episode of Hannah Montana.  
>She could see their adorable five year old neighbor, Carlie Andrews in her front yard across the street, playing with a motorized Disney Princess car that she had received for Christmas.<br>Rachel sighed.  
>Everyone she knew had gotten at least one thing for Christmas that year.<br>Everyone, that is, except her, her parents and siblings.  
>Her father was a strict Atheist and utterly refused to even consider participating (or allowing his wife and children to participate) in anything that even remotely involved religion in any way, shape or form, including the Christian holidays of Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.<br>She had never even opened a Bible, never mind been to church!  
>Once, when she was really little, maybe about three or four years old, a lady had knocked on their door, wanting to invite her parents to a weekly Bible Study session at a nearby church.<br>Her father had shot that offer down very quickly, calling the lady a 'religious nutcase', along with some other not so nice names in the process.  
>The lady hadn't come back.<p>

Rachel sighed wistfully.  
>Just once, she wished she could experience the same holidays that all of her friends seemed to take for granted.<br>Just once...

Sunday, March 8, 2015  
><span>Glen St. Mary, FL<span>

Katherine Marie Bowen fidgeted slightly in her seat in the center of the fourth pew on the left.  
>Why had Mom dragged her here?<br>Honestly, she was twelve years old today, she was too old to be believing in religious nonsense like this!  
>The 76 year old senior pastor, Brother Earl Tuten, walked up the steps to the platform and it was all Katie could do to keep from rolling her eyes.<br>_"Freak!" _a boy's voice said quietly in the back of her mind, accompanied by an image of Brother Earl holding a Bible with a sign glued to the seat of his pants bearing the words _'__RELIGION IS FOR FOOLS!__' _written in large capital letters and Katie gave a mental snort of agreement before squeezing her brother's hand gently as Brother Earl began to speak.

"The Bible tells us that one day, millions of people all over the world will disappear from the face of the earth in less time than it takes for us to blink.  
>It says in John 14:1-3, <em><strong>"'Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.<strong>_  
><em><strong>In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.<strong>_  
><em><strong>For I am going away to prepare a place for you.<strong>_  
><em><strong>And when I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself so that where I am, there you may also be.'"<strong>_

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 states_, __**"'Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.**_  
><em><strong>Take notice, for I t<strong>__**ell you a mystery. **_  
><em><strong>We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. <strong>_  
><em><strong>For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed.<strong>_  
><em><strong>For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.<strong>_  
><em><strong>So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, "O Death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?"<strong>_  
><em><strong>The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.<strong>_  
><em><strong>But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'"<strong>_  
>The trumpet of God will sound and every true Christian believer up to that point in time will be called up to meet Jesus in the clouds.<p>

As Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, _**"'But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.**_  
><em><strong>For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.<strong>_  
><em><strong>For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall by no means precede those who are asleep.<strong>_  
><em><strong>For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.<strong>_  
><em><strong>And the dead in Christ will rise first. <strong>_  
><em><strong>Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. <strong>_  
><em><strong>And so we shall forever be with the Lord.<strong>_  
><em><strong>Therefore, comfort one another with these words.'"<strong>_

There is no telling exactly when the Rapture will happen, however everyone has a different opinion on its timing.  
>Pre-Tribulationists believe that it shall happen before the Tribulation, Mid-Tribulationists say that it will happen during the Tribulation and Post-Tribulationists say that it won't happen until after the Tribulation, at the Second Coming of Christ.<p>

Personally, I hold with the Pre-Tribulation view.  
>First comes the Rapture, then the seven year Tribulation and finally, the Second Coming of Christ.<br>For it tells us in Matthew 24:36-44, _**"'But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.**_  
><em><strong>But as the days of Noah were, so olso will the coming of the Son of Man be.<strong>_  
><em><strong>For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.<strong>_  
><em><strong>Then two men will be in the field, one shall be taken and the other left.<strong>_  
><em><strong>Two women will be grinding at the mill, one shall be taken and the other left.<strong>_  
><em><strong>Watch, therefore , for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.<strong>_  
><em><strong>But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.<strong>_  
><em><strong>Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.'"<strong>_

There simply cannot be a Rapture surprise if you know it's coming at the mid-point or end of the Tribulation.  
>Matthew 24:44 states: <em><strong>"'For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.'"<strong>_  
>Therefore, in order for the Rapture to be a surprise, it must take place before the Tribulation starts.<br>It would be preposterous to even attempt to apply this to any other view.  
>During the final years of the Tribulation, 23 of mankind will be dead from the various judgments and the Church will be under constant threat from the Antichrist.  
>In all this carnage, I simply cannot imagine believers being oblivious to the nearness of the Lord's return.<br>Therefore, a Pre-Trib Rapture is the only position that even remotely makes sense.

One thing we do know, however, is that there is nothing left on the prophetic calendar that must occur before Jesus comes from Heaven with a shout and a trumpet blast to gather believers from all over the globe.  
>The Scriptures tell us to live in light of His imminent return and to conduct ourselves as if it could be today.<br>And yet, God in His mercy might wait one more day, which, in His economy of time, is a thousand years.  
>My faith would not be shaken if He tarried past my death.<br>But it behooves us to know what it means to live as if He could return today.

He will not return to the earth this time, but rather He will appear in the clouds.  
>And the dead in Christ shall rise first, and then we who remain shall be snatched away in the twinkling of an eye, as the Bible puts it, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.<p>

Oh, make no mistake, He will return and set foot on this earth again someday, but that is not the Rapture.  
>That will be the Second Coming, 7 years after Antichrist signs a fake covenant with God's chosen people.<br>Some teach that the seven years, known as the Tribulation, begins with the Rapture.  
>However, I believe that it will begin with the signing of the peace treaty between Antichrist and Israel, which could take place anywhere from a few days after the Rapture to an entire year later.<br>Regardless, those who are raptured will enjoy seven years in the House of God with Christ, who has spent over 2, 000 years preparing that place for us!  
>However, I must warn you that if you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior by the time the Rapture occurs, you will be left behind!<p>

As I look out amongst you all, I think those of you who still have yet to receive Christ.  
>Not because you don't believe what the Bible teaches, but because you feel as if you don't deserve salvation, as if God Himself has rejected you.<br>I understand this feeling all too well.

When I was about 17, I struggled with this same problem.  
>I had been raised in the church and all my life, I had heard about God's unconditional love for sinners and about Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.<br>Yet for some unknown reason, I felt as though I was the exception, that God's love did not apply to me.  
>I wanted so badly to receive Jesus, but I felt that I just didn't deserve salvation, that my sins, whether by thoughts or by actions, were too great.<br>I told my mother about my fears and I would like to share with you now what she told me.

God loves you the way a mother loves her little child who comes home covered in mud.  
>How does she love him?<br>Whether he likes it or not, she hoses him off, then brings him inside and thoroughly cleans him in the tub.

That is the way God loves you.  
>He doesn't love the mud and muck and manure, He loves YOU!<br>True, the rest of the stuff has to go, but that has nothing to do with His love for you.  
>You are not your sins.<br>You are the person that God made to be His own son or daughter.

Are you distraught because you can't seem to stop sinning?  
>First, you should understand that sin is basically unlove toward God and others.<br>It isn't dancing or smoking or cleaning the house on Saturday or Sunday.  
>It's acting unkindly to others.<br>God takes that personally, so whenever you don't help someone who belongs to Him, and everything is His own since He created it, when you have the opportunity and the resources to do so, you are sinning against Him.  
>Whenever you give a cup of cold water to someone because they belong to Him, you are doing it for Him.<br>God loves you because you're His, and because He knows what and who you are underneath the muck.  
>You are beauty itself and He will not stop until every molecule, every atom of you SHINES!<p>

John 3:16-18, _**"'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whomsoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. **_  
><em><strong>For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.<strong>_  
><em><strong>He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.'"<strong>_

God loves you for who you are, regardless of your sins.  
>It doesn't matter what you may have done in the past, whether you were a thief, an international terrorist, or even a member of a Satanic cult.<br>God's love for you is unconditional and will never end."

Katie was relieved when Brother Earl finished talking, but was confused by what happened next.  
>Normally, there would be a closing prayer, during which the choir would remain on the platform for a final song as the rest of the congregation filed out of the sanctuary.<br>But now, Brother Earl merely stepped away from the pulpit, descended the three steps from the platform and stood at floor level.  
>He spread his arms out wide and said, "If there is anybody here in the congregation today who hasn't recieved Jesus and is ready to do so now, I ask you to please come forward!"<p>

Then Katie did roll her eyes as people immediately flocked toward the pastor from every corner of the sanctuary, coming forward in ones and twos and threes, and even groups of six or more, some weeping, some rushing, some kneeling, but all of them eager to receive Christ, to be ready for the Rapture regardless of when it occured.

Suddenly, Gabe nudged her shoulder and Katie turned her head slightly to see the assistant pastor, Jonathan Brown leaning agaisnt a wall with an expression of slight boredom etched upon his face.  
>His wife, Angela, was sitting at the piano, playing 'Amazing Grace' while their 8 year old daughter, Madison Hope, sat quietly in the center of the front row on the right-hand side, reading what appeared to be a Children's Bible.<br>She waited for him join the masses of people at the front to help Brother Earl counsel and pray and lead people to Christ, but instead, he seemed content to just stand in the shadows and watch.

On the way home, Gabe stared worriedly at his sister.  
>Katie was staring out the window, unusually silent.<br>Nothing he did could get her to respond.  
>It seemed that Brother Earl's sermon today had left a bigger impression on his sister than either of them had expected...<p> 


	3. Missing: Christians, Messianic Jews

**Chapter Three: Missing: Christians, Messianic Jews, and all children under the age of accountability!**

Tuesday, August 1, 2015  
><span>8:00 a.m.<span>  
><span>Macclenny, FL<span>

Andre yawned widely as he slowly got out of bed.  
>After changing out of his pajamas, he realized that the house was strangly silent for this time of day.<br>Normally, he could hear the sounds of bacon sizzling in the frying pan coming from the kitchen right about now, but now he heard nothing.  
>Frowning in confusion, he walked into the kitchen to find the dirty dishes from last night's supper still piled in the sink.<br>Exiting the kitchen, he walked into his parents' room to find it empty.  
>Entering the en-suite bathroom, he inadvertantly glanced down at the floor and let out a startled yell.<br>His mama's panties, fuzzy slippers, and lacy pink nightgown with the lovely pearl buttons were piled on the floor, the nightgown's collar still completely buttoned while his Daddy's thin cotton nightshirt, polyester sleep pants and underwear were on the floor in front of the toilet.

Tearing out of the bathroom and into his little brother's room, he found the toddler bed empty with Ben's favorite Spiderman pajamas still under the covers and a slight indentation in the pillow where his little head had been.  
>Finding the same thing in his baby sister's nursery, Andre sank to the floor in front of Trinity's crib, his face buried in his hands, and began to sob.<p>

8:30 a.m.  
><span>Sanderson, FL<span>

Rachel was in tears as she sat huddled against the wall facing the triplets' empty beds, her head resting on her knees.  
>On the floor next to her was a note from her mother that she had found pinned to the fridge in the kitchen.<br>_'Gone with your father to look for your brothers and sister, be back soon!'_  
>What was going on?<p>

8:45 a.m.  
><span>Glen St. Mary, FL<span>

Katie jerked awake to find her twin brother frantically shaking her shoulder.  
>"Gabe?" she slurred tiredly, her jaw cracking in a huge yawn.<br>"Whazzgoinon?"  
>"I don't know!" Gabe burst out wildly, his voice unnaturally high-pitched due to the extreme terror and panic that he was currently experiencing.<br>"I woke up and everyone was gone!  
>Mom, Dad, Nikki, Brian, Alan and Philip...they've all disappeared!"<p>

Now wide awake, Katie jumped out of bed and raced first into Alan and Philip's bedrooms, then into Nikki and Brian's before finally checking their parents' room.  
>All of their nightclothes were still there, but the people who had been wearing said nightclothes were nowhere to be found!<br>Katie burst into tears at the heartbreaking realization that Brother Earl had been right before curling up into a ball on her mom's side of the bed and hugging one of the pillows to her chest as she wept uncontrollably, her small frame heaving with the force of her sobs.  
>The Rapture had come and she had been left behind...<p> 


End file.
